1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pair of folding binoculars in which a pair consisting of left and right eyepiece frames are swingably supported in such a manner as to be able to open and close with respect to each other, the binoculars being rendered usable when the eyepiece frames are opened add objective frames are projected and fixed in place, the binoculars being capable of folding to form a compact structure when they are not in use.
2. Prior Art
Folding binoculars of various structures and types have hitherto been proposed, which may be used as opera glasses for watching theatrical plays or sports such as baseball games, soccer games, and boxing matches.
However, conventionally-proposed folding binoculars are heavy because they are made of metals and comprise a lot of component parts. Further, they are large-sized and cannot be carried easily. They are also disadvantageous in that manufacturing processes are complicated and production costs are very high.
To cope with these disadvantages, the present applicant has previously proposed, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 50920/1986, folding binoculars having a case comprising a base body and a lid body mounted on an eyepiece base portion in such a manner as to be able to open and close, objective supporting frames accommodated within the case and adapted to be set up and pushed down by virtue of springs, and a position adjusting mechanism for adjusting the movement of eyepieces in the to-and-fro direction. The component parts of the binoculars are formed of synthetic resins, thereby allowing the binoculars to be very light and be manufactured at low production costs.
With these binoculars, however, since the eyepieces are connected to the position adjusting mechanism via the eyepiece base portion, the objective supporting frames alone are adapted to be set up and pushed down. As a result, even when the objective supporting frames are pushed down and the entire structure is made compact in this way, the thus achieved structure cannot be thinner than the diameter of the eyepieces. Therefore, with the above-described folding binoculars, it has been possible to make the entire structure compact only to a limited extent.
In recent years, various daily necessities and sundries have become fashionable and colorful, and binoculars have been showing the same tendency. From this viewpoint, the binoculars that have conventionally been proposed as well as the binoculars that have previously been proposed by the present applicant have an outer appearance which maintains a basic configuration of a pair of binoculars even after the entire structure has been made thin and compact. Thus, the folding of these binoculars has not been able to provide a shape which is surprising or interesting, so to speak.